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World Bank cuts global growth forecast

Tim Stewart

— 1 minute read

09 June 2016

The World Bank has slashed its forecast for 2016 global economic growth to 2.4 per cent, down from 2.9 per cent in January.

In the June 2016 Global Economic Prospects report, released yesterday, the World Bank slashed its forecast for global economic growth as "stronger headwinds" buffet both emerging markets and developing economies.

The 2.4 per cent growth forecast for 2016 is unchanged from the "disappointing" growth of 2015, said the World Bank report – but it is down 0.5 percentage points from January 2016's prediction.

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The downward revision was driven by weaker growth among advanced economies, low commodity prices and "lacklustre" global trade and capital flows, said the World Bank.

"Divergences between commodity exporters and importers persist. Conditions remain markedly challenging for commodity exporters, which continue to struggle to adjust to the new era of depressed prices," the report said.

"In contrast, commodity importers are showing greater resilience to headwinds, although the expected growth windfall from low energy prices has been surprisingly modest," it said.

The World Bank is forecasting the Chinese economy to grow at 6.7 per cent in 2016, down from 6.9 per cent in 2015.

"India’s robust economic expansion is expected to hold steady at 7.6%, while Brazil and Russia are projected to remain in deeper recessions than forecast in January," said the report.

"In an environment of anaemic growth, the global economy faces mounting risks, including a further slowdown in major emerging markets," said the World Bank.